Currently, the switching devices produced within integrated circuits are generally switches of the micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) type using polysilicon elements. However, the technology used to produce such switches is a dedicated technology which is difficult to integrate in a standard CMOS technological line.
French Patent Application No. 2,984,009 and U.S. counterpart U.S. Pat. No. 8,692,247 have proposed a mechanical electrical switching device that can be integrated in CMOS technology lines. This device does not use the conventional technology of the MEMS type and is based on an asymmetrical two-dimensional structure produced in a single metallization level, which allows a beam to be displaced in the plane of this metallization level when there is a temperature variation.
French Patent Application No. 2,984,010 and U.S. counterpart U.S. Pat. No. 8,704,327 propose to use the planar displacement of such a structure in order to produce a capacitive device having a capacitive value which is variable as a function of temperature.
These two-dimensional devices, extending parallel to the surface of the substrate of the integrated circuit, although being entirely satisfactory may, in certain cases, offer a small useful surface between the fixed part and the mobile part, leading to a small contact surface in some applications.